2000 Men's Golf

'23 2000 Men's Golf

  • Title:
    National Champions
  • Year:
    2023
  • Position:
    National Champions
  • Team:
    Men's Golf
  • IHCC Years:
    1999-00
  • Career Highlights:
    NJCAA National Champions • Four-stroke victory (875)

The team that brought the first of six National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Men's Golf National Championships to Ottumwa will forever be enshrined in the Indian Hills Athletics Hall of Fame. The 2000 Indian Hills Men's Golf Team will be inducted in an official ceremony at the Hellyer Center on Saturday night.

2000 INDIAN HILLS MEN'S GOLF TEAM

Brad Stracke      Head Coach

Reeve Krikke

Tim Moody

Shad Muth

Pat Stolpe

Nate Topp 

Led by head coach and Indian Hills alum Brad Stracke, the 1999-2000 Indian Hills Men's Golf team proved to be one of the most dominant junior college golf teams ever assembled. The Warriors posted top-five finishes in each of the team's regular season competitions before capturing the NJCAA Region XI Championship at Livermore Golf Course.

The Warriors, who posted three consecutive top five finishes at the national tournament between 1997-99, entered the 2000 national championship as the No. 1 ranked team in the nation with four individuals in the top-26 in the NJCAA rankings. Shad Muth was rated No. 1 heading into the national tournament while Reeve Krikke was ranked seventh, Pat Stolpe was ranked No. 8, and Nate Topp ranked 26th nationally.

As the top-ranked team in the nation, the Warriors were the first team to tee off in the field of 45 NJCAA DII programs at the Texas A&M Golf Course in College Station, TX. Indian Hills took a measurable lead through the first round after carding a 293, six strokes ahead of Temple College (TX). Krikke led the charge through the first 18 with a 1-under, 69, tied for the second lowest score throughout the tournament.

Indian Hills followed up in the second round with a 291, but Temple made a push to pull within one of the Warriors after firing a 286 in round two. After shooting a 10-over 80 in the first round, Moody responded with a low-round of 70 to lead the Warriors in round two, a performance that helped Indian Hills maintain its lead heading into the third round.

The Warriors used a full team effort in the third round after all five individuals shot a 77 or better, including four individuals with a 74 or better to post a 291, three shots better than Temple. Topp, who posted a 10-over 80 in the second round, led the Warriors in round three with a low score of 71.

With a four-stroke advantage, the Warriors were declared national champions after unfavorable weather cancelled the fourth and final round of the national championship. Indian Hills outlasted Temple 875-879 to win the program's first-ever national title.

Following the conclusion of the tournament, the Warriors set a school record with four individual All-American performances. Krikke placed sixth overall followed by Muth's seventh-place finish. Stolpe tied for 12th while Moody checked in at 15th overall. Topp finished just two strokes outside of All-American status.

Following their Indian Hills' careers, the national champions each went on to have successful careers at the next level.

Krikke competed at the University of Northern Iowa where he captured Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week honors and has since competed on the Southern California Section of the PGA Tour.

Moody moved on to Kansas State University where he competed for the Wildcats from 2001-2003. Moody was named a team co-captain his senior year. Moody later competed professionally on the Gateway Tour.

Muth moved on to the University of Texas-Arlington where he was a two-time All-Southland Conference selection, a two-time NCAA Regional qualifier, and the 2001 Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year. Muth competed professionally on the Gateway Tour and the Korn Ferry Tour.

Stolpe completed his collegiate career at Coastal Carolina University where he was a two-time NCAA Regional participant and 2004 All-Big South selection. Stolpe carved out a professional career on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Topp, the 1998 Iowa State 1A State Champion at Hubbard Radcliffe High School, went on to the University of Northern Iowa and later received his undergraduate degree from Buena Vista University. 

Stracke, who competed at Indian Hills for two seasons and was the Warriors' top finisher at the 1989 national tournament, becomes the first person to be inducted into the Indian Hills Athletics Hall of Fame on two separate occasions. Stracke was inducted in 2016 for his contributions as both a student-athlete and his nine-year run as head coach of the program (1996-2005) where the Warriors reached the national tournament in each season. Stracke now serves as head coach of the University of North Texas Men's Golf team where he has been at the helm since 2008.

Former Indian Hills Men's Golf Coach Brad Strack on the 2000 National Championship team

"Being a part of the first Golf National Championship at IHCC was one of the most significant highlights of my career. The team was tough, talented,  hard working, handled adversity and dependable.  I will always remember the 2000 National Championship and the players that made it possible."

Reeve Krikke on the 2000 National Championship team

"I look back on my experience at Indian Hills and am still so honored I got to spend two years there. It was amazing to be around other student-athletes from all over the world on a somewhat small campus in the middle of rural Iowa. Indian Hills is a special place.

Winning the national championship was something I'm extremely proud of. There's something about being successful on a team comprised of five individuals. Playing golf every day, traveling together really allowed us to have the opportunity to really get to know each other. 23 years later, I'm confident we would do almost anything for one another. That's pretty cool!

Tim Moody on the 2000 National Championship team

"The championship meant a lot to each one of us. For most of the spring, we only have five players. That is what a team needs to have to compete each tournament. Each round, four scores had to be counted. That meant no matter what, we all had to be the best we could and grind every round out.

It was a total team effort at the national championship to use all of our scores at some point to come out on top. No matter if a guy had a rough round, we knew all the others would step up for our team to be on top.

I was never on a team in my life like ours that knew we could county on each other as much as we did. And we did it and won the whole thing!"

Shad Muth on the 2000 National Championship team

"The championship was very memorable and would not have happened without the leadership and coaching from Brad. He brought out the best in each of the players on the team, always giving us the competitive edge and belief we could win. We were fortunate to have five players that had unique attributes of their own, giving us confidence we were there for one another!"

Nate Topp on the 2000 National Championship team

"The decision to go to Indian Hills was one of the best decisions I made. Those two years with my teammates and Brad as our coach, then winning the national championship were amazing!"

2000 INDIAN HILLS MEN'S GOLF - NJCAA DII NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

Place

Name

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Total

Par

6

Reeve Krikke

69

76

74

219

+9

7

Shad Muth

75

73

72

220

+10

12

Pat Stolpe

74

72

77

223

+13

15

Tim Moody

80

70

74

224

+14

25

Nate Topp

75

80

71

226

+16

TOTAL

 

293

291

291

875

+35